| Volume 76 Number 2 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
If your credit card is lost or stolen, your liability is limited to $50. But there are different rules for debit or check cards. If you wait more than two days to report the loss, your liability increases to $500. Promptly report any loss or theft. Click here for more.
Dealing With Insomnia
Whats keeping you up at night? According to a recent poll, stress from work, health issues, and financial troubles are the top reasons Americans are losing sleep. In some instances, insomnia can be so bad that it will require medication. Before you take that step, try a few of these basic do's and don'ts to achieve a better night's sleep. Click here for more.
2009 Air France Crash Blamed on Bad Data
In the summer of 2009, Air France Flight 447 disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean between Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Paris, France. For quite some time, it appeared that the plane had simply disappeared. Investigators could find nothing over the Atlantic to indicate a crash had ever occurred. As more time passed, investigators found parts of the plane on top of the water and at the bottom of the ocean. Nearly two years after the accident, investigators found the flight data recorders. Yesterday, the Bureau for Investigations and Analysis released a report blaming the accident on faulty airplane equipment while calling for better instruction for pilots. Flight 447 remains the deadliest crash in Air France history. To read about the accident and investigation, Click here for more.
Your Money
Have you planned for an emergency? What will happen if you're suddenly faced with costly car repairs, unemployment, or a medical emergency, but you don't have enough money to get by? Start planning today! Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Federal banking law preempts a state law regulating convenience checks. The California Supreme Court held that a state law requiring credit card companies to make certain disclosures regarding the use of convenience checks is preempted by the federal National Bank Act. The court noted, “If disclosure requirements such as those in [the state law] were allowed to stand, national banks operating in multiple states would face the prospect of ‘limitations and restrictions as various and as numerous as the states.’ National banks would have to monitor requirements as to the content, language, manner, and format of disclosures for each of the 50 states (and possibly municipalities as well), and continually adjust their convenience check offers to comply with the prescriptions of each local jurisdiction. Such ‘[d]iverse and duplicative [regulation] of national banks’ engagement in the business of banking … is precisely what the NBA was designed to prevent.’” Click here for more.